


nightshade and wine

by sesquidpedalian



Series: solanaceae [1]
Category: Dr. STONE (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Magic Tricks, Pet Names, Platonic Relationships, and gen using -chan for everyone definitely isn't the same as him using pet names, but the concept just felt right, i have no idea where they are or how they're friends in this au, look i know honorifics don't really translate in english
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24157354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sesquidpedalian/pseuds/sesquidpedalian
Summary: “Time?” he asks.“About two and a half seconds.”“Ha! You’re only adding the half because you’re bitter that I got it so fast. It was two seconds.”
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Ishigami Senkuu
Series: solanaceae [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743325
Comments: 8
Kudos: 86





	nightshade and wine

**Author's Note:**

> concept: Gen and Senku play a game with each other where Gen does magic tricks and times how long it takes Senku to figure out what he did and it's very very soft

“The flowers are hidden behind your hands. Come on, mentalist, that’s so basic.”

Senku sits at his desk, ostensibly scratching out more plans for science experiments. The quirk of a smile plays on his face. Gen, sitting on the bed cross-legged with his hands spread, open-palmed, sighs melodramatically. He waves the ‘disappearing flowers’ in the air—now newly reappeared with a quick flick of his wrists—and Senku doesn’t so much as look over. “Not even five seconds. Unbelievable, dear Senku.”

“I’ve seen you do that exact trick billions of times. Where are you always getting new flowers from anyway?”

“Oh, these? I made a deal with the devil. I sold my soul to keep these flowers alive forever so I never have to find new ones.”

“So that’s why you smell like fresh flowers all the time.”

It’s impossible to tell if Senku means it as a compliment. But it seems he _is_ listening.

“Okay, next one!” Gen reaches into one of the many sizable pockets of his rather sizable coat and pulls out a spoon.

“You hide the handle behind your hand and let it slide down as you push so it looks like the spoon is bending.”

“I didn’t even do it that time! Were you looking at all, darling?”

Senku leans back in his chair, stretches all the way out until it looks like he’s about to tip over. “Time?” he asks.

“About two and a half seconds.”

“Ha! You’re only adding the half because you’re bitter that I got it so fast. It was two seconds.” Senku’s lip curls. With a thunk, the chair lands back on all fours. 

“Oh, _Senku_ , would you think so poorly of me? Would you truly believe me to be so spiteful~?”

“Of course I would, you crappy mentalist.” Senku sticks his finger in his ear, which Gen knows by now means he’s either paying no attention whatsoever, or listening so fiercely and fervently it would hurt his pride to admit to it. Then he sees the way Senku’s shoulders are half-turned toward him, even as he appears to be diligently solving complicated equations whose nature Gen can’t begin to unravel.

Gen smiles. Full attention it is then.

“Well, okay,” Gen sing-songs. “How about this one?”

He pulls out a deck of cards. Senku scribbles something that, from Gen’s less-than-stellar viewing angle, looks like it might be the symbol for the force of gravity.

“Watch what I'm doing now.”

“No need. I could do this with my eyes closed,” Senku snickers, just to be mean. 

“Is that so, Senku dear?” The scratching of pencil on cheap paper. “You want to close those pretty eyes for me? See if you can guess like that?”

Senku snorts. “What’s your trick, mentalist?”

He does turn his head though, just a fraction.

“This one is fun. My favourite is when people get right up close, to see if they can spot it.” Gen holds his hands out. “I do actually need you to look at the cards, Senku.”

Senku sighs like this is a great inconvenience to him and his impossible mathematics, but scoots his chair over regardless. Gen is willing to bet he’s only pretending to do work half the time the two of them play these games, but science isn’t really Gen’s strong suit—he just drinks cola and nods agreeably along with whatever Senku is talking about as long as it doesn’t involve shooting Gen into space. (It’s really statistically shocking how often that particular suggestion comes up.) 

“Okay. You’ve done a faro shuffle.” 

“Clever scientist,” Gen coos. “You remembered.” Humans _love_ flattery, soak it up like a cat does sunshine, and whatever else Senku is, he’s most definitely human. It’s hard to see Senku’s face, bowed over the cards, but there’s the undeniable hint of a smirk there.

Gen takes a card off the top, and Senku blinks, either briefly thrown or committing the card to memory. Gen flips it over and the next blink is undoubtedly of the memorizing variety. Then he flicks his fingers, pops a flower up into his palm, and in the space between one second and the next, brings his hand back down to hide the flower away again.

“The flower is up your sleeve.”

“And the card, my dear?”

“Ace of hearts.”

Gen reveals the card in his hand in one smooth gesture.

A pause. Then, flatly: “Queen of spades.”

They usually know when they’re toying with each other. They are too alike not to. Senku, Gen knows, lets himself be toyed with for these little magic games of theirs, up to a point. Senku’s eyes narrow. Gen carefully counts the seconds ticking by. 

_Forty-five...forty-six...forty-seven..._

“You switched it along with the flower. The other card is up your sleeve and you just grabbed a new card from the deck while I was looking at the flower.”

Gen laughs. “Almost,” he sings. For anyone else, he would offer a hint, but from the thoughtful hum Senku makes, the ‘almost’ is hint enough.

Senku is quiet as he looks from Gen’s frozen hands to his long sleeves and back. It’s been nearly another two minutes when he tries again.

“It’s not in your sleeve then.”

“Senku, dear, you know I can’t answer that,” he sighs. “That would be helping you _cheat_. And we both know you don’t need the encouragement.”

Senku chuckles in that way of his, low and dangerous, with that terrible sharp smile that would be creepier if Gen didn’t know this idiot boy also threw himself off cliffs sometimes just to see what would happen. (And okay, he had a parachute or some other safety precaution every time, but _still_.)

Another long silence.

_Four minutes. One...Two...Three..._

Senku tilts his chin up like a challenge. “The flower was a distraction. Two tricks in one. You showed me the faro shuffle to throw me off, because I would be expecting the anti-faro, because I know you’re a show-off and that’s one of the hardest tricks in the book. The flower _was_ actually in your sleeve, and I’m guessing you hid it there while you were getting the cards out because I wasn’t looking. You pulled the flower out, easy for you—” Gen preens at the hidden notes of praise “—and while I was diverted by that, you switched the cards on the top of the deck and hid the flower at the same time to keep me distracted.” 

Gen laughs, delighted. “So close, darling! But you were wrong about the flowers; I always have a few up my sleeve, tricks or not.”

“Ah, my mistake. You have so many tricks up your sleeve, mentalist, I just couldn’t believe flowers would fit in there too.” But Senku has turned all the way in his chair to face Gen properly, feet planted as he leans forward, pencil twirling in his fingers. Ever curious, he continues, “What about the cards?”

In lieu of responding, Gen flips over the top card of the deck with a one-handed flourish. Ace of hearts.

Now Senku laughs, throwing his head back. “You switched it right before my eyes! I wasn’t paying enough attention. Time?”

“Four minutes, forty-eight seconds.”

Senku turns back to his work, taps his pencil twice on his chin. “Clever magician,” he says, around the brilliant, toothy grin on his face.


End file.
